Saturday, 16 October 2010

Stripping the Willow

I had a productive hour at Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits this morning searching a couple of willow trees for leafmines. I even found a pale brown tortrix moth on the under-surface of a leaf but clumsily failed to pot it.I think the case-bearer is probably Coleophora lusciniaepennella which is a new species for me.

*The contorted mine with larva still present is likely to be Stigmella salicis.*The empty cone formed at the leaf tip could have been made by Caloptilia stigmatella?